Earn and learn: Teaching scholarship supports career change dreams
With data showing we’ll have multiple careers across our lifetime, a new scholarship is helping aspiring teachers make the switch by paying for their tuition and arranging full-time paid employment in an internship during their postgraduate studies.
Master of Teaching student Rebecca Madsen (Image: Supplied)
Griffith University is one of two institutions offering the Queensland Government’s ‘Turn to Teaching’ Internship Program.
Its an opportunity commended by Griffith Master of Primary Teaching student Rebecca Madsen, who spent more than 20 years in the corporate world but re-evaluated her career goals after children.
“I think mature aged teachers with previous life experience have so much to bring to the profession,” she said.
“Although I had always enjoyed the fast pace, rigor and creativity of my corporate life as a marketing professional, becoming a parent inspired me to seek a more meaningful path.”
The new scholarship is open to those enrolling in Griffith’s Master of Primary Teaching or Master of Secondary Teaching.
Scholarship winners will receive $20,000 in their first year of post-graduate study and full-time paid employment in an internship position at a Queensland state school with a reduced workload while completing their second year of study.
Griffith University is one of two institutions selected to offer the Turn to Teaching scholarship. (Image: Kuanish Reymbaev for Unsplash)
“This scholarship offers a pathway for people who are potential career-changers, but haven’t been able to make the shift because of financial constraints,” said Professor Donna Pendergast, Head of Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies.
“We’re very proud to be selected as one of just two universities to offer this scholarship, and I think it reflects the quality of our programs.”
The COVID pandemic has led many professionals to re-evaluate their career and enhanced the reputation of teaching.
“During COVID we’ve seen the status of the teaching profession increase and people value the work of teachers a little bit more,” said Professor Pendergast.
“Parents who have been supervising learning at home have also had an opportunity to look at the learning that’s taking place and get a sense of what happens in the classroom.”
It’s a career opportunity that mother of three Rebecca Madsen simply couldn’t ignore and she is on track to graduate from Griffith in 2023.
“I feel that my career in the fast-paced digitally-led world of marketing equipped me with a unique skill set to bring to education,” she said.
“Teaching can be pretty fast-paced, rigorous and creative too!”
The ‘Turn to Teaching’ Internship Program is run though the Department of Education and offers aspiring teachers financial support while they complete their post-graduate studies.
